The Story About Ico That I Wrote 5 Years Late
by Ariel Lenore
Summary: Exitement, Adventure, ROMANCE possibly, why not. After the game that you played, The Knights of the Queen won't let Ico and Yorda live in peace. They have their own plans for Yorda's future.I EDITED THIS SO IT'S READABLE NOW. please R&R. I'm lonely. P
1. the first thing

Ico is not the only person to have horns:

The stories that mention that he is the only one in his village who has horns must be wrong.

My first evidence is that the people bringing Ico to the castle also have horns. There is one hooded guy and there are a few other men who walk strangely who all have horns on their heads.

My theory is that he says that they bring kids with horns to the castle and sacrifice them – that must mean that he's not the only kid with horns they brought to the castle. Maybe she is a Quenn who rules over a vast and that the gamer doesn't get to explore.

My last piece of evidence is that the black shadowy creatures with glowing heads also have horns. If you pay attention to the shape of their heads instead of just bashing them to nothingness right away you will notice they have horns. The ones that are most evident that they have horns are the ones that dance around Yorda at the end of the game – which, my theory is that those were the ones who died inside of the tombs. (I mean, the tombs light up after you bash enough of them to oblivion, I'm guessing that you are supposed to think that there is one shadow soul for each tomb).

That's all I wanted to say before my story because after I played the game I was inspired to write about it, like other fans have done off and on for the past 5 years. My story includes other people WITH horns, because I noticed the men dragging him to the castle had horns.

I'm not saying that the stories that say he's the only one are bad, I'm just saying that the author must not have been paying much attention to the beginning, or forgot it when they wrote their story, or maybe the feeling of Ico being of social isolation makes a story better. ( I know what the professional websites say though – confusing, no?)

Ok story….

--

Chapter One:

Ico took Yordas' hand and helped her back to her feet. He looked at her, puzzled. He coughed once and asked her how she escaped. Then he asked her how _he_ escaped. Of course, she couldn't possibly answer him.

Ico touched the sides of his head. His horns were gone. Dried blood and dirty bandana crumbled away in his hands. Incredibly, they had broken off close enough to his skull so that they bled. Horns don't bleed if they broke; just like hair or nails, but if you get close enough to the base... It was a gruesome thought.

The force of a wispy black shadow with a woman's face greatly impressed him then, and even now as a fading memory.

Ico looked at Yorda and took her hand. He had thought about how to get home a lot, and he had been thinking over where he had come from so that he could re-trace his steps. "I remember where they took me down. I got a good look at the path."

Yorda was a soft skinned, solid human like he was. She looked normal; except of course her skin was so white it glowed in the dark. She smiled at him.

So what if she wasn't human. He could live with it. In fact, it put him at a little unease just because she was so …cool. She was a powerful magical brilliant light being of darkness. She was to be respected and revered. But he also knew she had a strong will, but a weak constitution, which was perfectly princess-like.

He smiled back and his cheek twitched. He hurt. Yorda put her hand on his shoulder and said something to him. It certainly sounded nice; soft, gentle, supportive, and a little sad. But the words were complete garble-tee-gook.

Ico thought that perhaps in time he would be able to teach her Japanese. It would be slow and painful, but she will someday be able to tell him how they had escaped from the castle.

When they talked to each other, it wasn't just to communicate; it was to acknowledge the other's existence. To let the other know that they haven't been forgotten. Barriers are always frustrating. Ico was impatient, but he knew there is always ways around barriers, or busting through them.

His impatience to escape the castle made it possible to run, jump, climb, swim, and dangle from death defying heights the entire way out. His impromptus and his territoriality, which are both masculine tendencies, made him want to carry a girl out of there with him, and fight the lurking, dancing, ghostly black shadows for that girl.

After going through the trouble of getting her free, and after realizing he needed her to get out, he wasn't, as at first, just taking her along for the ride anymore. After one acrobatic stunt after another, after every smile, after very holding of the hands, and especially after the bridge had slowly climbed back into the wall she had caught him from, he realized she cared about him. Yorda appreciated his knighthood to the point of creating friendship between them, which when in turn, Ico awoke to a sense of vengeance and determination. He had killed the evil queen and rescued the princess. And then after the darkness of nausea took over his very being, the princess rescued him.

Although that is what he had speculated had happened, after waking up on a strange boat on a strange beach with the princess conveniently sleeping upon it's warm sand.

He gripped his fingers around hers. To his surprise, they were warm! In the castle, after he had had a good look at her (or rather, after she had had a good look at him), he had only took her hand the first time to save her, but noticed that her skin was as cold as a rock in a river on a frozen day in February. And dry. They were as dry as wood. Cold and dry. At first he resisted her touch, but gradually, he came to grabbing her so often to lead her around the winding paths and treacherous terrain that he got used to it.

Ico took his other hand and put it on Yordas' free arm. She was as warm as he was. This defiantly beat the cold and dry. Yorda was startled at his touch. He quickly backed down, nervously, and apologized.

Then they started walking toward the cliff.

He hadn't been worried about much of anything until now. He had just wanted to escape and go home. Then he realized that he couldn't. Escape? Sure. Go home? He'd return home only to be captured again (not that he'd be going anywhere), or shunned upon for not braving his death with dignity. Even if his family were happy to have him back again, he'd have to contend with an explanation of sorts – usually with which he wasn't happily compliable. He'd have to explain the castle, the shadows, the queen, his missing horns, and of course, Yorda.

Having Yorda around, the poor frail fragile girl would be treated like a freak show with her square ears. Her flimsy transparent dress was nothing at all like his tribal wear. And even if she was put into normal farmers clothing, she'd still have the skin and hair and eyes, she'd still have no horns. At least he still had his stumps. People would be able to see that he at least had once had them.

_ I How courageous /I ._ A smug smile crept across his face as he thought of how impressed other children (and even adults!) would be at his bravo and daring do at loosing his horns to such a terrible Queen of Darkness. He prided himself thinking that the girls would swoon at such a battle scar like his; they would know just by looking at his horns that they were considerably big even for a young boy like him; and how he must have had a brilliant struggle to knock off such sturdy thick horns.

Ico started thinking about his home; how bored he was most of the time. He did chores and helped the village farm, and then to vent he took up swinging sticks with other boys, or he'd wander off by himself on fishing escapades or kill rabbits to give to his proud mother for dinner. He didn't like the idea of doing that for the rest of his life. He wanted to go somewhere else. And he certainly didn't want to have to drag Yorda back to a peasant's life of digging, and she was so frail he doubted she could ever learn how to fish or hunt or climb trees.

Ico giggled quietly to himself thinking how funny it would be to watch Yorda struggle with a little fish, but his daydreams were unexpectedly interrupted. Yorda slapped the palm of her hand on his chest and quietly said something short and commanding. She was as still as a rabbit hiding from it's predator.

Ico looked up to see a man in a black cloak walk toward them, his fists clenched tight and his steps thumping into the dirt. "You!" He called, in a strong, gravely baritone voice. And then Ico noticed the other men who had brought him there in the first place. There were five of them, and they were very I very /I angry.

TO BE CONTINUED!...(dum dum dummmm…)


	2. the thing that happened after the first

Chapter Two: Grumpy Old Men

There a way out behind them, but Ico knew they couldn't outrun them, and no way around them, or overpower them even if he had a weapon. He wished he still had the Queens sword.

Yorda peeped quietly and gripped Icos' hand, as they bravely stood their ground. The hooded man stomped up to the two of them and with a large gruff callused hand he grabbed Icos' shirt and yanked him off the ground. He screamed at the boy:

"What have you **_done_**? You impudent little wretch!" the hooded man jerked Ico so that his sash ripped off. Ico fell to the sand with a thud and sending dust flying. The man stomped his foot onto the ground uncomfortably close to the in-between of Ico's legs. He gripped his hands into fists and grit his large teeth. "_That_ is the _sacred_ castle of Her Majesty The Queen and ancient burial grounds of monks and knights!"

"Now it's the ancient burial grounds for the Queen." Ico said as he rubbed his elbow. One of the knights had come from behind the yelling man and chortled as he grabbed Yordas' arm. Yorda shrieked at the knight as she writhed loose, which empowered Ico to stand, and he screamed as he lunged toward the knight "Let her go!"

The hooded monk looked at Yorda as if she hadn't been standing there the whole time. If you could have seen his face behind his mask, surely you would have seen him breathless in awe, and also in fear, for he knew Yorda without ever setting eyes on her before. The great man suddenly knelt in front of her, and seeing as the knights didn't follow his actions he said loudly "Neal you fools, she is the Princess! And now she is Our Queen." And they all got down on their knees. The one who had touched Yorda looked particularly pale.

Ico was amazed at their unexpected reverence, having shown none of his own whatsoever towards Yorda or her mother, The Queen. He simply took Yordas' hand and they walked past the men. The hooded man stood up and said calmly to them "What shall I tell the others?"

Ico turned and said, "I am Ico. I have lost my horns in the brilliant battle and have slain the Black Queen of Shadows. I've saved the souls from the Dark Fortress, and I have set the Princess free of her cage!" He glanced at Yorda, who wore a tired but pleasant face and he knew he had to give her justice for her heroism just as much as his. "And when I was nearly dead, the Princess saved me, for the Death of the Old Black Queen meant the ruin of the castle, so both are destroyed. And now Yorda is Queen, who is fair and good to all her followers, and she will be Queen for ever and ever!" and he nodded to himself, thinking that that sounded quite nice. And he turned once again into the forest path up the cliff.

The Hooded Monk called to him "Very well! It shall be written in stone!" The hooded man and the knights stood for a moment, until Ico and Yorda were both out of sight. Then the monk turned to his most stern and stoic knight and mumbled something strange quietly in his ear.

:-:

Ico and Yorda looked out at the ocean from their cliff, over the ruins of the castle. Ico felt a small swelling of pride and amazement of himself. He looked at Yorda, who had no hint of sadness or grief. She tugged on his hand and they left.

Ico placed his free hand over his stomach as it growled at him angrily. He had left his home before daybreak and had awoke on the beach at dusk, and now night was falling around them. His empty stomach reminded him how weak he was after such an eventful couple of days. That, and he suddenly had to urinate. He turned to Yorda "Stay here, ok?" he left her in the path and jumped into some shrubbery. At first Yorda tried to follow him, but when she heard the sound of tinkling, she stood back embarrassed.

Yorda took the moment to wonder if her small friend knew what had happened while he was passed out. How she desperately clung to her own soul as she sat dying. Being as that she was made of the same spiritual stuff as her mother, she knew instinctively that her mother was dead. And, how, after he killed her mother, she had carried him. After that she woke up on the beach. She couldn't yet remember what had happened between then, although she figured that she would eventually.

Ico rustled back through the bush. He smiled at Yorda with his teeth, and wondered if she ever had to pee. He took her hand again and they walked forth.

They had no knowledge that a man of stealth, agility and great strength was silently watching their every move.

¡TO BE CONTINUED! 


	3. what came after the other two

Chapter Three: What Happened On The Path

The forest path was narrow in places, but just wide enough for them to walk side by side. Ico found himself slipping his hand down Yordas' arm and across her waist. She eyed him carefully. From his point of view, she had a certain look on her face. She suddenly seemed very tall and grown up. He looked up at her and smiled sheepishly as he withdrew his hands.

_The only way she'll learn Japanese is if I speak it._ Ico jumped out in front of Yorda and she stopped. He sat her down on a rock. He looked into her eyes and pointed to himself. "My name is Ico."

She only smiled at him. Again, he stated loudly "EE-KO." Then waved his hands around.

"Ico?" Yorda raised her eyebrows.

Ico bounced up and down with joy and exclaimed "Yay!"

Yorda smiled at making him happy. "Ico!" she said delightfully. Ico pointed at Yorda, knowing that a word or name alone has no context doesn't make any sense whether it's right or wrong.

"Yorda." Then he pointed to himself and said again "Ico." Yorda nodded in understanding. Ico took her hand and wiggled it as he said "hand." She repeated him. Ico picked up her foot and noticed it just starting to develop calluses, from never wearing shoes as a physical being. "Foot." He wiggled her toes. She giggled and pulled her foot away, tickled. "Toes." He said, grabbing her foot again. He continued to point to obvious body parts for her. Then as they walked he pointed out "Rock, tree, leaf, river…"

:-:

In a particularly bushy part of the woods, Ico saw a small creature scurry in the weeds. He stopped Yorda with his hand and eyed the creature carefully. He slowly crouched down on his toes and watched the rodent until he saw the whites of its eyes, then, he sprung! He grabbed and fumbled at it until he could smash its head onto a rock. He picked up the dead body and stood up. Proudly he turned and showed Yorda, who in turn, gasped and boggled at such a seemingly cruel and messy deed. Ico said aloud "dinner!"

Yorda only grimaced and repeated him, not quite sure what one word he had meant to say, considering that it was an animal, and it was also dead.

Ico scrounged around sticks and twigs, dry underbrush and mosses, and put them in a collected circle of stones. He rubbed a couple of sticks together, despite the frustration; he pushed on until he at last had a fire. With the stick he cut the animal's stomach open and slowly continued to skin it. Then he stuck the carcas from end to end with the stick and jabbed it into the fire, where it burned and snapped until it was cooked thruogh.

While the creature cooked in the fire, Ico watched Yorda sit herself down and watch the blazing embers glow, and the fat and blood drip into the fire, spitting hot ashes. He remembered gently the watermelon they shared on the beach before they left and wondered if they would be spending the rest of their lives together. Before he was even one year old, Ico was engaged to marry a girl in the village, by arrangement. He guessed that since he left it was off. And he also guessed that if he went back, if she hadn't been engaged to another yet, then it would be back on. Although, he decided he didn't like that. He didn't like the girl or any of her brothers.

Ico yanked the meat out of the fire, jammed it in the ground, and blew his hot fingers. He saw Yordas' doubtful eyes, which changed to hazy content when she caught his gaze. Her arms were curled around her legs. She stroked her knees absent-mindedly and looked around at the ground. Ico decided that he would bring her back to his father. He might visit his mother, but maybe she won't take it so well. For all they knew he was dead. It was as much as a surprise to them that the monk chose him as much as it was for everyone else. They knew of the custom, it happened sometimes. Or rather, it used to happen, before even the elders of the village were born. Ico wondered if Yorda knew.

Ico picked up the charred animal and ripped off a leg and gave it to the girl. She smiled and took it hesitantly. Ico ripped off the other leg and bit it. He chewed and smiled at Yorda to do the same. It was cooked through, hot and chewy. As a rodent it tasted weedy. Yorda ate it gingerly, but trying not to make a mess was futile. They finished the carcass, picking at the stick and wiping their fingers on the grass. Ico ran off to fuel the fire for the last time that night.

They curled up together against a tree and slept deeply. Dreaming of things that have been, things that are, but more importantly, of things to come.


	4. chapter the fourth

Dear Readers,

Thank you all for the hits! Wow, I'm really amazed anyone is reading anything of mine.  
I'm very grateful to everyone who's even just glanced at it. Well, here's a thank you gift, two more chapters!  
I'm sorry about the earlier mix up with the updating of the first and then the third chapters. I fixed that, so I hope no one notices that it was wrong;

Also, I wanted to say (because I didn't say it before), kudos to everyone who wrote an Ico fanfic.  
I hope I didn't come across too whiny when I said other authors had different opinions of the game than I did;  
but as a matter of fact, the game is open to just about any theory anyone can think of, because the basic characters, very little plot or story. Also, because of this, it's hard to come up with anything fun or exciting, because, as beautiful and detailed and great it was to play the game, and despite the lack of satisfaction at the end of the game, you WANT more, but there's nothing to work ON.

As I type my fanfiction, I have been reading all of the others for clues, hints, ideas, suggestions, and writing styles to keep me going until I come to a conclusion. I have to admit that I didn't have any idea where I was going with this until just lately, and I hope I can make it fun to read and go through with it before anyone gets too bored waiting.

Again, thank you everyone, fans of games and TV shows and everything else that inspire others to be creative, because the world needs to be creative, and I hope that eventually everyone gets to write something that doesn't already have a copyright all over it.

-Ariel Lenore

Chapter Four:

As you may know "there is no place like home." If you are put out of your home or you are taken away from it, you know in your heart it's the only place you want to be. If you have yet to establish a place of living in which you feel comfortable, such a statement will soon be understood. On this point, you, the reader, know very well Yorda has lost her home. You also know that Ico has decided to go back to his, as is stated in the previous chapter, and is looking forward to it.

Although I must admit that I, the writer, myself have a small home with my beloved and my children and we are poor; my children long for a field to play in and grass to gnaw on and flowers to romp in – so we look forward to a future in a place we can all be quite content in.

There is one more thing I wanted to say before I continued with the story. I mentioned Ico and how he is looking forward to a home, while Yorda has no home of which to speak of. I wanted to mention that another truth about home, which is also related to this story, is that: If one does not have a home, then one will set out to make one.

:-:

Ashes floated away on the breeze as Ico stirred the embers with a stick. He sighed and looked at Yorda, who was pulling twigs out of her hair. He would never have guessed Yorda was a shifter. Of course, she may not have been provoked to move so often if Ico had not always tossed and turned.

"Let's go." He said. Ico wasn't in a bad mood, but he was still exhausted from the day before. Yorda saw him walking away, and, hence idly followed him. There wasn't anything particularly interesting to look at along the way, except that Ico pointed out bugs and plants.

They soon made it back to Icos' village; a fairly large farming community. All around the houses, there was no fence around the village, but was a great field of tall wheat. At the entrance to the square, by the elder's house, a great old tree marked any deaths upon it. A closer inspection concluded that his name was on the tree! The only way in or out was through this path to the sea and one path on the other side toward the rest of the world. Ico knew that they had to be sneaky. No one could see Ico or Yorda, engulfed in wheat. They could come right up to the tree and the back of the elder's house, but to get to his house he had to go through the square.

Some boys were tossing a ball while some girls called them names for not letting them play. The adults were all indoors, probably, waving fans in front of their faces and drinking or cooking. It was a hot morning, and the air smelled like breakfast. One of the doors opened up and a mother called out to the kids to go home and eat. Some of them cheered and some of them groaned, but only one of them left. Ico knew they wouldn't have a free path. He tugged on Yordas' hand and they carefully snuck around the back each house. They were spotted by a dog, who barked at them twice, but then recognized Ico and sat and wagged his tail.

Ico saw his father. He yanked on Yordas' arm as he ran up to him. "Father!"

Icos' father looked up from getting water, and dropped his pale, which splashed on the dry dirt. Astonished, the great man ran to his son, smiling, alive and scruffy. "Ico!"

He knelt on the ground. He was an enormous man; strong and powerful from a lifetime of hard labor. Even on his knees, he towered over Ico. "My son, what has happened? You are supposed to be dead!"

"Well Father, I didn't want to die, so I escaped the castle and fought some monsters and killed the Evil Queen and rescued the Princess!"

"What, wait, who's she?" His Father looked cautiously at Yorda, who smiled weekly at this gruff voiced, usually distanced authority.

"This is Yorda, she's the Princess I saved from the castle!"

"Wait, wait, lets go sit down and you can tell me the whole story."

:-:

Icos' mother had taken the news with great shock and tearful approval. She had made all his favorite dishes, and after they had eaten, he told the story to his family, with all the gusto he could muster. He thought his story sounded quite remarkable and heroic, which is of course what he wanted people to think of him. The only evidence of his eventful stories was Yorda, who was obviously not from around any earthly village.

Icos' mother gave Yorda a more traditional dress; it was old; deep red and hemmed with violet. It fit her loosely and its' dark color made her skin glow like moonlight. Ico also wore a tunic of deep red, symbolizing his heroism.

All during dinner, and the story telling, Icos' mother and father kept exchanging worried glances at each other, and unkind glimpses and Yorda. They quickly looked away whenever she caught their gaze.

Eventually, Icos' father announced that it was very late and they had a long day ahead of them. Ico tugged on Yordas' hand and they headed for his bedroom. He stopped in front of his door and closed it just enough so that his parents could have heard the squeak of the hinges. He waited for a moment and then peeked around the hallway corner. He saw his parents look at each other. His father put his hand around his mothers' shoulders and they quietly slipped outside.

Of course nothing had changed. He was only gone two and a half days. But still, he was nostalgic to see that there, in the corner of his small plain bedroom was his hay bedding and his old wool blanket in the corner. The couple of melted candles on the floor, and a large, simply made box with a flat, make shift lid, of his few personal belongings. He dug around in it and fished out his sleeping shirt and handed it to Yorda. He knew his mother wouldn't like her old dress being slept in. Ico turned his back to her as she changed, and he quickly changed back into an even older shirt.

Someone knocked on the door.

"Come in!" Ico said, as he opened the door. His mother and his father were standing there, looking strange, as if they were secretly ill.

"Ico..." his mother said kindly. "As a gesture of our appreciation, your father and I would like to give you and… your friend… a special thank you treat. You can think of it as your birthday present." She went into the kitchen. Ico was silently curious.

"Your mother went through some hard work to get this for you Ico, please be grateful." His father said.

"I'm always grateful, father."

"I know, my son."

Icos' mother came back with two tall steaming mugs. "Each of you take one."

"Thank you, mother." Ico took them and handed one to Yorda.

Icos' parents smiled and looked at Ico guiltily and said goodnight and shut the door. Ico raised an eyebrow but dismissed it. They were probably just tired.

He looked into his mug and smelled it. He took a ginger sip. "Mmmm!" He smiled. Slightly sweet and very bitter, with a hint of chilies, it was the unmistakable taste of chocolate. He sipped it slowly, enjoying every drop. He sat down in his bed and motioned for Yorda to follow. She took a sip and smiled gratefully. Ico listened to Yorda hum delightfully as she slowly drank her cup. Near the end of their drink, they both felt unbelievably sleepy. Ico yawned and lay down in his bed as Yorda watched. He fell right to sleep. She yawned herself and lay down next to him.

There was only blackness after that.

:-:

The next morning, Ico woke up with the sun shining bright in his room. As he looked drearily about his room, he realized he had woken up alone.


	5. the more exiting fith chapter ever

Chapter 5: River of Kindling

Ico jumped up. His head was tired. "Yorda!" he yelped. He fell back into his bed on his bottom. He held his hand up to his face. "Noooo…" he moaned.

Icos' mother knocked on his door. She called though the door, reminding him that breakfast was ready to eat. Ico got up slowly, and made his way to the living room. He sat at his table and ate eggs and bread and water, like always. His parents didn't know anything about Yordas' absence, and suggested maybe she simply went exploring. But he knew something was amiss. He left the house as soon as he did the dishes.

He respected his parents' wish not to be seen by the other villagers. He went into the woods where they had come from, calling for her. Deeper and deeper he went, calling until his throat ached.

Saddened and disappointed, he sat down on an uncomfortable rock and thought. Where else could she have possibly gone? What if she was back at the house right this moment? He decided to go back to the house just in case.

Faintly, he heard a soft voice call out his name. He jumped up, his heart racing. "Yorrdaaaaaaaaaaaa!" He howled.

Again, the voice called his name. He ran toward it, jumping over rocks and roots, racing through the river and through the trees. He knew whom the voice belonged. She screamed his name, but suddenly it was stifled.

His feet skid to a halt narrowly avoiding a fall off of a cliff next to a waterfall. Ico looked downward. There, at the bottom of the fall, came out a suspicious man in a cloak, with a squirming Yorda thrown over his shoulder. He shrieked her name. The man looked up at him. Yorda saw him also. This, he saw, gave her a blast of energy of kicking and screeching at the man until he lost his grip and she fell off. Her body hit the soft ground beside the river. The wet soil quickly crumbled away and she splashed into the river. The man in the cloak stumbled for her. But, not wanting to get wet, he strayed back from the river. Yorda gasped and gulped for air, as she was hurriedly swept downstream. She called for Ico just as an undercurrent sucked her under.

Ico ignored his senses and leaped. He dove into the rumbling icy waters, loosing himself in the bitter rush of idle ego.

Cold. I _So cold_. /I 

When he opened his eyes, he was being carried downstream. He shook his hair and looked about for his Yorda. A glimmer of white caught his attention. Yordas' pretty face bobbed up in the water. Her eyes glowed daintily as they opened into the sunlight.

Ico stumbled over rocks and kicked through undercurrents. It seemed to take forever, but at last, her moonlight skin was within his grasp. In one last heave of effort and bitter strength, he threw his arms over her. He managed to grab a-hold onto her middle. Thankfully, she was light enough to keep above water, as he leaped and splashed and plodded up onto the shore.

He grabbed the sides of her head. "Yorda! Yorda!" he called. At first, there was nothing. But, after an long, draining, agonizing moment, she finally winced her eyes and coughed up a little water. She raised her hand up to her face and wiped her eyes. She looked up at him leaning over her. She smiled. He smiled back at her; she sure was beautiful.

"Yorda!" Ico was so engulfed in his happiness he sprung forward to hug her. Yorda wrapped her cold wet arms around him tenderly. Both of their wet cloths squished unpleasantly together, but, at least, they thought, at least they were warmer.

"My little Ico…" She cooed. "Thank you." She reached up to pet his hair. If only she could tell him what happened. If only she could tell him anything! She held him tighter as she thought of how frustrating everything was: she knew what was happening, and she knew who he was, but there was no way to tell him. Well, maybe. If he's smart enough to figure out the maze of the castle, then he could easily figure out names. She pulled him away from her and looked into his eyes. She pointed to herself and said "Yorda."

Ico looked at her. Stern, though confused. "Yes…?"

"Ico." Yorda said as she pointed at Ico.

"Go on…."

"Knight." Yorda pointed off into the distance, from where she fell into the water.

Ico looked around him. "Ico. Yorda. Knight?" He pointed to the same place, and then to where he thought he saw the strange man run away to.

Yorda jumped up with excitement and clapped her hands and smiled. Then she changed her face to a more stoic expression. "Yes." The man was no one to be happy about or fond of.

"Hooray!" Ico said as he took her hands. "Well, not really. Knight tried to take you away. That's not good. Why? Why Yorda? If you know who he is, then he must be from the castle? Why can't they just leave us alone now? Why can't we live in peace now?"

Yorda shrugged. The happiness gave way into a calm sadness. Ico put his hand over her shoulder. "Yorda… I'm sorry. I don't know what to do now. The only way we will find out who he is is if he comes after us again. And I'm gonna guess that if he had the balls to come after us in my parent's home, then he will come after us anywhere." They looked at the ground for a moment, before Ico helped her get up.

Yorda looked behind her as she stood and noticed all of the dirt on her bottom. She tried to wipe it off as casually as she could, but alas, Ico noticed. He looked at his own butt and saw there was dirt there too! He turned around and pointed his rear at her and wiggled it at her. He laughed as she did, merrily and wonderfully, the best laugh he had ever had.

Unfortunately, it was stopped short by the crack of a twig.

Yorda and Ico turned to see the mysterious man from before; his dark eyes peering out at them from under his hood.

Duh Duh DUHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! (To beh continuededed). Lol lol ROFL wut UP?


End file.
